#leadership

Heard that Pharm Systems is at it again. Another wave of VPs and executives leaving. Others (barely any) updating their LinkedIn profiles to "Open to Work" and probably asking competitors for job openings. Europe, US - they're flying out faster than Tom&Jerry in their private jet to Jackson Hole. The sales organization is wiped out - a printed picture memory at this point. The people who actually knew the clients, knew the product, and knew how to close - gone. Last I heard, they now have project managers hunting for device business. Let that sink in. Somewhere along the way, politics ate strategy alive. Then came the massive bonus and commission cuts - looks good on the quarterly report. The PnL is probably on life support by another travel ban. Then Services? Handed to people with 0 experience whose previous team was actually taken apart and promptly set on fire. Those of us who got out are just sitting here with popcorn, watching, and waiting for the "Pharm Systems Acquired By..." press release to drop.

Layers and layers of worthless VPs that have to be let go.

Meeting-

1. So no mention of serving the athlete.
2. Key focus is serving the biz. The biz often doesn’t think big picture or with logic. Not to mention shipping jobs to ITC means a 12 hour time difference. Biz never works outside of 8-4 pst. ITC never starts until 10am ITC time.
3. Not gonna work my dude.
4. Glad our leaders are so intelligent.
5. TPM sr director in the chat offering to train folks on agile. Embarrassing all around.

• Fundamentally broken and needs a full reset.
• There is no clear or credible technology roadmap.
• Leadership and hiring appear driven by internal relationships and favoritism.
• Vendor decisions often look questionable and raise concerns about incentives.
• Systems from acquisitions remain fragmented and poorly integrated.
• Deployments and upgrades move far too slowly for a modern IT organization.
• Overall execution is weak and the group is widely seen as ineffective.

I had high hopes that there would be some improvements with the new regime but they are every bit as indecisive as the last batch of lackeys. The 1B area is a mess with people running around chasing their tails because their new boss lady can't make a decision and the leads are scrambling too. I sure hope Steve Sparkes' powers of observation are sharp and he picks up on the issues in his org soon or he will be the next sacrificial lamb. People are holding on by a thread waiting for change but the good ones are polishing off their resumes and looking externally since the internal postings are a joke.

Companies that operate with a hub-based workforce model should align their teams geographically rather than scattering small numbers of employees across multiple states. When the majority of a department or function is concentrated in a primary hub, it makes operational, financial, and collaborative sense to place the entire team in that same location instead of maintaining one or two employees in various other states.

First, collaboration and communication improve significantly when teams are centralized. Even in remote environments, employees located within the same region or hub tend to share similar, leadership structures, and workplace culture. When teams are spread out as “one here and two there,” those individuals often become disconnected from the main group, making collaboration less efficient and creating unnecessary communication barriers.

Second, centralizing teams supports stronger leadership and accountability. Managers can more effectively support employees when their teams are structured in a clear and cohesive way. When a handful of employees are placed outside the main hub, they may receive less consistent oversight, mentorship, and integration into team processes. Bringing employees together in the dominant hub location creates clearer reporting structures and stronger team cohesion.

Third, there are cost and operational efficiencies. Supporting employees in multiple states often introduces additional administrative complexity such as payroll compliance, state-specific regulations, and HR management differences. Consolidating teams in the primary hub reduces these complexities and allows resources to be focused where the company already has the strongest infrastructure.

Finally, a hub model should actually function like a hub. The purpose of a hub is to concentrate talent, resources, and collaboration in one central location. Maintaining scattered employees across various states contradicts the very concept of a hub structure and weakens the benefits that such a model is intended to provide.

For these reasons, companies that promote a hub-based workforce strategy should ensure that teams are largely located within the same primary hub rather than distributing small numbers of employees across multiple states where they operate in isolation from the core teams.

The asset management industry is changing rapidly, and staying ahead requires more than incremental adjustments.

One area that deserves close attention is the layer of middle management. Many of the managers responsible for executing strategy appear increasingly detached from the company’s long-term mission. When leadership positions become primarily about protecting paychecks rather than building lasting value, organizations inevitably lose talented people who want to contribute meaningfully.

Over the past years, a number of highly capable individuals have left because they wanted to deliver impact and build something meaningful. When those voices disappear, it is often a signal that something deeper in the culture needs attention.

The competitive landscape is also evolving. Firms like BlackRock have significantly expanded their position in areas such as ETFs and are investing heavily in AI and data-driven investment capabilities. Competing in this environment requires not only technology and capital, but authentic leadership and a culture that empowers people to act with conviction.

Strengthening leadership culture should start with divisions such as Strategic Advisers (SAI), where the connection between research, portfolio management, and long-term client outcomes is critical. This kind of review requires diligence and honesty, not narratives that avoid uncomfortable realities.

Organizations that are willing to examine themselves critically tend to emerge stronger. Those that ignore early signals often find themselves losing relevance over time.

The opportunity to reinforce a culture of accountability, integrity, and genuine leadership is still there—but it requires deliberate action.

You can feel it everywhere. Nobody believes in leadership anymore because they haven't gives us a reason to in a long time. The ship is sinking fast and everyone knows it. If you're not job hunting, you're one of the few who isn't.

I reported in close proximity to Pete for 3 years and also worked around and with Felicia and Morgan. Pete was a great leader. Yes, he has two watches. But he was smart and asked good questions and focused on results and performance. He had what it takes. He’s a markedly better than Gail. The other leaders? Morgan? Ha. Felicia? Ha ha. Anthem has been a den of mediocrity at the top for a long time. Pete was better than them all…by a lot.

There is no reason to try harder. If you see your leadership coasting… coast harder.

If you see your leadership failing to make a decision… stall on decision making.

If you see your leadership throwing their peers under the bus… do the same with 10x effort.

If you see leadership leaving at 4:00… leave at 2:00.

Leadership sets the tone of an organization. And it has been made clear by Nike leadership:

• We don’t care about you
• We don’t care about Nike
• We only care about ourselves

I wonder what would happen if leaders at all levels in the company had their performance and bonuses solely based on how well they led their teams. Take bottom line business numbers out, feed those through individual contributors, and if you’re a leader you are solely measured on your ability to lead! Measured through TTUS (and p.s., stop asking bullsh-t questions you know aren’t targeting the truth), you measure through attrition and actual employee satisfaction surveys. Oh what a concept and how things would change, real fast

Evanko is the visionary Cigna needs. I can’t wait to see where he leads us!

Hearing noise about VPs across the company being let go

This will come as a surprise to Chevron management; respect is earned and not deserved due to title or legacy. It has been a long time since I worked with a Chevron manager who actually earned respect. Management drafts way too many entitled individuals into their ranks who have little to no regard for the workforce, do not have a reasonable understanding of the workflows they are responsible for nor a comprehension of the industry as a whole. Sad to see the company that I have worked for over twenty years start to cave in on itself due to poor leadership and decision making. Management ranks are full of nepo-babies, one hit wonders, and TikTok influencers without a clue. Experience, skills, and hard work are no longer valued here.

Downstream VPs managers ruining Upstream, Uncon experienced folks ruining Deepwater and Deepwater folks ruining Uncon.

Yes we need cross fu ctional experience, but not Leaders/managers. They come and make people do uncecessary studies and projects which are doomed to fail. The upstream industry is more than 100 years old, yet these d-mb bozoz think they can change the world.

This is foolishness

#IGNITE Stupidity

My area is getting rid of our contractors, and not backfilling even after a large VSP leave. Checking to see if other areas are experiencing the same in the very near future. Is CF trying to get the rest of us that’s left to just quit? Entire company has fallen apart more in the past few months, just when I thought it couldn’t get worse but yet HR pretends we’re stronger than ever? Have they read comments from our members or providers or even employees? Leadership definitely doesn’t know how to read the room.

So after the multi phased layoff, re-orgs, I have a MD 3 layers up that does not understand the tech they are over. No shocker there, but they are making decisions that more than hamper operations. I can’t be specific naturally but let’s just say they are out of their depth.

It’s like “so you need nails to build a house, are you sure you can’t cut back on the number of nails used? or let’s try using half the nails, how about that?. If you aren’t sure if the structure can remain standing, then just build half of the house.”

That’s as close to an example I can give without jeopardizing my employment but you can see how odd and reckless this is. Now imagine trying to explain the folly of using half of the nails and\or building only half of the house and they just don’t get it.

Checking in on the global RTO rollout: I’d love to hear from colleagues in the UK and EU offices. Has your local leadership confirmed a specific Phase 2 start date yet or are local labor regulations still being navigated? It would be great to compare notes on how the transition is being handled outside the US hubs.

What is going on with the continual stream of postings on LinkedIn with our executives at charity events, groundbreaking ceremonies for non-profits, opening of trading floors at a university, and Leaders Group members discussing risk, AI, and advertising their latest speaking engagement outside of the company?

In HR and IT, it seems to be the norm to promote yourself outside of the company. Our EVP of HR (not a real position in other energy companies) is attending events and putting himself front and center at the opening of a university trading floor. Why is he even there?! Should that not be an opportunity to promote our traders and the trading leadership? Instead, he is front and center.

This all started under M@rk and the selection of the current EVP of HR and EVP and Chief Digital and Admin Officer. They promote themselves externally on social media, share their travel plans to foreign destinations with their teams, and are clearly angling for more senior roles outside of the company.

Meanwhile, employees are losing their jobs and we being told we need to manage our own careers.

The culture at PSX has been broken and these two “leaders” are a big part of the problem. M@rk, wake up and do something about it.

Why was someone brought in from an outside firm to manage the Investment Advisory Group that has no investment advisory experience over many qualified with the group?

Rumour is they are going to do an employee feedback survey. Is the current thoughts and views and morale and feelings and challenges and of the vast number of employees not very obvious? Another crazy idea from crazy KK lady.

Meeting after meeting after meeting dealing with that one loud mouth bully abusing employees and contractors alike, and the "leadership" here does nothing. Watch the rest of the talent dip once those aip checks get cashed...

The stock is responding well now over 51. Keep your foot on their throats Dan!

on the ask me anything session. Here's a summary:
"blah blah, strategic blah blah excited, blah blah Ai, blah blah blah No Layoffs"

So hard to believe any of this, the actions of the past years do nothing to support them. The leaders are powerless, only Christian, Dominik and S/O have the power and make the cuts.

interested in your impression if you have met him. i met him a while back and was not impressed. he seem odd and awkward and didnt really appear competent for his job.

In November of 2021, nike stock traded at nearly $170 per share. Five years later and the stock is trading consistently sideways in the low $60’s, with no end in sight. Despite leadership purchases, leadership changes, constant layoffs, reorg’s, buy backs and a retail / wholesale reset, nike is one of the worst performing stocks out there. Today it’s trading at $59 and may go lower. A nearly %280 drop in valuation. Unbelievable.

Was he not the CFO the past few years? And greenlit HIH?

I don’t remember exactly where, but I saw a comment about Citi being a toxic place to work, followed by a request for clarification. I don't recall the OP ever following up, but as a software engineer who’s been at Citi for some time now, I have my own thoughts. Maybe it’s just my specific bubble in CISO, but here’s my take:

1. Non-existent inter-team communication. It’s like a collection of medieval castles: no one talks to anyone on the outside unless you hold a certain title. God forbid you’re a peasant. The Indian hierarchy and culture only aggravate this further; if you want anything done or even answered, you're forced to escalate immediately.

2. Terrible product quality. I honestly don’t understand how people with such abysmal coding, problem-solving, and process-building skills get hired anywhere, let alone at a bank.

3. Leadership with a heavy stench of narcissism. Don’t even get me started on Tim Ryan. He’s single-handedly decided that along with his title, he inherited a flock. Now every Thursday, he delivers a sermon on how to live, think, and behave --- even dictating which tools to use for work he doesn't understand in the slightest. Oh yeah, I sh-t you not, he also travels worldwide to Citi branches with his "Roadshow."

If you’ve been laid off, it’s a blow, but please understand: in the long term, you are better off. It’s a toxic, ugly environment for any software person. Your skills won't just stall there --- they will die. And they'll do so quickly.

So apparently, throwing darts are the new operating model. Town hall highlight of the year: Head of IT + CFO confidently announce that “No other companies have figured out AI governance… but we will.”

The silence afterward? You could hear a budget being cut in real time. This is coming from leadership that still treats basic project tracking like it’s emerging technology. But wait, it gets better.
Our fearless IT leader sends the brand-new “Head of Data” out of the country to “vet options” we aren’t even authorized to implement. Bold strategy.

Minor detail: this individual’s experience in data and technology appears to be limited to creatively rearranging LinkedIn buzzwords. If résumé fiction were a programming language, we’d finally have expertise. Because promoting someone with no clue in the space worked out so well last time… why not run it back? Now the plot twist: they’re stuck abroad due to regional conflicts and travel disruptions. You truly cannot script this level of tragic corporate comedy. We can’t align on reporting standards, but we’re about to solve global AI governance. Sure.

Next town hall prediction:
“We’ve decided to skip governance and move straight to vibes.”

Leadership is clearly not up to the task to turn this company around. Stock got a bump but regressed, NA volumes aren't working even with PPA investment and acquisitions, and we're getting the shaft with low team score and merit raises. At what point do we collectively say we aren't going to work to execute shoddy decisions that cost us money?

Indiana has a new CEO. Worried?

Get back in the office for collaboration better results. Head of US business segment, ELT member that doesn’t apply to you. You can live in a different country.

I’ve just completed my PDR review, and my manager mentioned that I need to increase my visibility with the SLT. This feedback seems to come up almost every year. It makes me wonder whether the issue is really about my visibility, or if there’s a lack of clarity or alignment in how SLT evaluates contributions.

Whelp, there it is. Cordani just announced his retirement. Will Evanko turn things around? Please, no more rebranding.

Like we all didn't see that coming.....

New CEO Brian Evanko......do mass layoffs then retire ..

This concern is to address ongoing situations regarding the handling of confidential information within lower management on the Central Review Team.

It has come to everyone’s attention that confidential employee matters and sensitive information are being discussed or shared with individuals (the su-k ups) who do not have a legitimate business need to know. This behavior raises serious concerns about privacy, professionalism, and adherence to company standards.

Maintaining confidentiality is not optional it is a fundamental expectation in any professional workplace. When management personnel share private information inappropriately, it undermines trust, damages team morale, and creates an uncomfortable work environment for employees who expect discretion and integrity from leadership.

Beyond being unprofessional, this conduct may place both employees and the organization at risk. Leaders are expected to model ethical behavior, protect sensitive information, and ensure discussions about employee matters remain limited to appropriate and authorized individuals.

Manufacturing PMIs in Europe start expanding and workforce is being cut - great move Wi--y...
Who could have thought that a former retiree CEO only has short term interest in the stock price/his options package and a majority external sourced execs board just bows - great vision for our 3M !

Don’t you find it amusing how long Naga writes his weekly novels? Who reads that stuff anyhow?